Lighter



Oct. 1, 1968 L. s. DEXTER 3,403,963

LIGHTER Filed April 13, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVEN TOR.

AT ToPNEK United States Patent 3,403,963 LIGHTER Leonard S. Dexter, 29Dewbourne, Toronto 10, Ontario, Canada Filed Apr. 13, 1966, Ser. No.542,244 8 Claims. (Cl. 431-254) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The presentinvention relates to an improved lighter of the type which utilizes acompressed fuel such as butane.

It is the primary object of the present invention to provide an improvedlighter utilizing a compressed fuel which, incidental to the striking ofthe spark, causes a priming charge of fuel to be fed to the fuel nozzlein a positive and highly eflicient manner to thereby positively insurethe lighting of the flame upon the subsequent release of fuel forprolonged combustion. Other objects and attendant advantages of thepresent invention will readily be perceived hereafter.

The improved lighter of the present invention includes a housing havinga chamber therein for storing fuel, such as butane, at above atmosphericpressure. A spark producing means, such as the conventional spark wheel,is mounted on one end of the housing between a nozzle which provides thegas to be ignited and a button for actuating a linkage which opens avalve associated with the nozzle. The spark Wheel and the linkage are solocated relative to each other so that a persons thumb after leaving thespark wheel must invariably depress the button and actuate the linkageand thus open the valve to release fuel for combustion as long as thebutton remains depressed. In addition a supplemental linkage is providedbetween the spark wheel and the above mentioned linkage so that,incidental to applying pressure to the spark wheel, the valve will becracked and a priming charge of fuel will be released to the nozzle tothereby clear air therefrom so that upon the subsequent striking of thespark and release of the fuel by the depressing of the button as thefinger leaves the spark wheel there will be a positive flow of fuel intothe path of the spark to thus cause ignition. The present invention willbe more fully understood when the following portions of thespecification are read in conjunction with the accompanying drawingswherein:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of the improved lighter of thepresent invention;

FIGURE 2 is an end elevational view of the lighter of FIGURE 1 showingthe relationship between the spark wheel and a portion of the linkagefor opening the fuel releasing valve;

FIGURE 3 is an end elevational view of the improved lighter of FIGURE 1showing the portion thereof at which the flame exists and also showingthe arrangement for adjusting the height of the flame;

FIGURE 4 is a plan view showing the relationship between the sparkwheel, the portion of the linkage for opening the fuel releasing valveand the fuel nozzle;

FIGURE 5 is a cross sectional view through the lighter takensubstantially along line 55 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5A is a detail view, partly in cross section, of a portion of thearrangement for slidably supporting the saddle and spark wheel;

FIGURE 6 is a detail view of the spark wheel and the arrangement formounting the fuel valve opening lever taken substantially along line 66of FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 6A is a detail view, partly in cross section, of

a portion of the saddle arrangement for carrying the spark wheel;

FIGURE 7 is a greatly enlarged cross sectional view showing themechanism of the fuel releasing valve structure; and

FIGURE 8 is a greatly enlarged view showing the construction of thefilling valve.

The improved lighter 10 of the present invention includes a decorativecasing 11 which is slipped over and held in press fitted relationshipwith a fuel housing 12 (FIGURE 5) containing fuel chamber 13 therein.The limit of movement of decorative casing 11 onto housing 12 isdetermined by lower lip 14 on the latter. Chamber 13 contains a supplyof liquified fuel such as butane and releases said fuel when the valvestructure to be described hereafter is actuated.

The arrangement for actuating lighter 10 to produce a flame is mountedat the upper end 15 of the lighter and consists of a spark wheel 16, anozzle 17 for directing a jet of fuel upwardly, and a lever 18 having abutton 19 mounted thereon, said lever opening a valve mechanism torelease the gas when button 19 is depressed. At this juncture it is tobe noted that spark wheel 16 is rotated in a clockwise direction inFIGURE 5 by a persons thumb. When this is done a spark will begenerated. However, by virtue of the inherent action of the personsthumb in leaving spark wheel 16 while the body of the lighter is graspedby the remainder of the hand, the persons thumb will immediately fallonto button 19 to thereby pivot lever 18 about its fulcrum 20 (FIGURE 6)and thus lift nozzle 17 to release the fuel in time to be ignited by thespark which was previously generated. Air for combustion is suppliedthrough apertures 20 in casing 11. The foregoing sequence of operationand the structure for achieving the above function will be described ingreater detail hereafter.

The spark generating mechanism includes a spark wheel 16 having acentral aperture therein which receives pin 21 extending between spacedupstanding arms 22 which in turn are portions of an U-shaped member 23having the lower end 24 thereof welded to the upper surface 25 ofhousing 12. The end portion 26 of pin 21 receives screw 26 to therebyretain the pin in its assembled position. A tubular member 27 has itsupper end 28 located immediately below spark wheel 16 to receive hollowtube 28' in telescoping relationship and flint 29 in tube 28 is biasedupwardly into engagement with spark wheel 16 by spring 30 which in turnis held within tubular member 27 by screw 31. Tube 28' has its upperportion 29' suitably secured as by welding to the central part of plate30 from which upstanding ears 31' extend, all of which in combinationform a saddle. Apertures 32', which are formed in each of ears 31,receive pin 21. It is to be noted at this point that apertures 32 arecircular and receive pin 21 with a relatively tight fit whereas arms 22,which also receive pin 21, contain elongated apertures 22. A tab 33'extends rearwardly from plate 30' and has a downwardly turned edge 34which rests on the upper surface of lever 18.

It will readily be appreciated that prior to the striking of a spark byrotating spark wheel 16 in a clockwise direction in FIGURE 5 pressuremust be applied with the thumb to the top of spark wheel 16. This willcause the above mentioned saddle carrying spark wheel 16 to movedownwardly as tube 28 telescopes into tube 27. The spring 30 willprovide a slight bias against such movement and maintain the flint 29 incontact with the spark wheel. As spark wheel 16 moves downwardly causingthe saddle to move downwardly, the downwardly extending end 34 of tab33' will press on a portion of lever 18 to the right of fulcrum 20 (FIG.5) and thereby cause a slight clockwise rotation of lever 18 against thebias of spring 56 (FIG. 7) tending to maintain valve 53 closed. Theoperation of valve 53 will be described in greater detail hereafter.However, at this juncture it is to be noted that the pivotal movement oflever 18 will cause a cracking of valve 53 by causing it to move awayfrom its seat 55 to thereby permit a slight amount of fuel to move outof housing 13 toward nozzle 17, thereby clearing any air therefrom.

When spark wheel 16 is rotated in a clockwise direction by a personsthumb the relative movement between the spark wheel and flint 29 willcause a spark to be generated which will fly to the left toward nozzle17 in FIGURE 5. However, as noted above prior to the striking of thespark, valve 54 was cracked to permit a priming charge of fuel to passto nozzle 17. However, after the spark has been struck and the thumbleaves wheel 16, spring 56 will cause lever 18 to assume its positionshown in FIGURES and 7 where valve 53 is closed. Thus, after the sparkhas been generated the valve which releases the fuel through nozzle 17is closed. Thereafter the persons thumb falls onto button 19 to effectan opening of valve 53, as will be described more fully hereafter, tothen permit fuel to flow through nozzle 17 for as long as button 19 isdepressed. It is to be noted at this juncture that as soon as the thumbleaves the spark wheel 16 spring 30 will expand to move flint 29upwardly and thus cause the pin 21 mounting spark wheel 16 to rise untilit engages the uppermost portions of elongated slots 22. This upwardaction is effected as soon as the thumb leaves spark wheel 16 and beforeit falls onto button 19.

Thus, in providing a flame, a compound valve opening action isexperienced wherein the pressing of spark wheel 16 downwardly, as isrequired to generate a spark, causes a slight clockwise pivotal movementof lever 18 to thereby crack the fuel releasing valve and provide apriming charge of fuel. The rotation of wheel 16 will thereafter cause aspark to be generated. However, as soon as the thumb leaves spark wheel16, the expansion of spring 56 will cause valve 53 to close therebycausing only a priming charge of fuel to be supplied to nozzle 17. Thecontinued movement of the thumb after leaving spark wheel 16 will causethe thumb to fall onto button 19 to thereby cause the pivotal movementof lever 18 about fulcrum 20 to maintain valve 53 open for as long asbutton 19 remains depressed, the spark being generated by spark wheel 16prior to the time of the permanent opening of the valve. Thus there is asequence wherein there is a priming charge upon cracking of the fuelreleasing valve, a closing of the valve after the spark has been struck,and a reopening of the valve to cause the spark to ignite the laterreleased fuel.

The fuel releasing opening of valve 53 is invariably effected subsequentto the generation of the spark by virtue of the fact that the personsthumb in leaving spark wheel 16 must fall onto button 19 especiallysince it is so guided by the curved surface 32 at the upper end ofcasing 11. As soon as the thumb engages button 19 it will depress theright end of lever 18 downwardly in FIGURE 5 and thus cause this lever,which is of the first class type, to pivot in a clockwise directionabout its fulcrum which is at the bottom of downwardly depending legs 33(FIGURES 5 and 6). The clockwise rotation of lever 18 will result in theupward movement of the bifurcated end 34 of said lever and the liftingof nozzle 17. At this point it is to be noted that the bifurcated end 34has tines 35 (FIGURE 7) which straddle the neck 36 of nozzle 17 andunderlie shoulder 37. Therefore the upward movement of bifurcated end 34will be accompanied by the upward movement of nozzle 17 which in turnwill cause the valve mechanism within the fuel releasing valve 38 to beactuated to release the fuel which is ignited by the previouslygenerated spark.

The fuel releasing valve mechanism 38 includes a housing 39 having athreaded portion 40 which is received in mating tapped aperture 41 inthe top of housing 12, a gasket 42 insuring a fluid tight fit. Athrottling cap 43 is threaded onto threaded neck 44 at the bottom ofhousing 39, the fit between the threads being sufficiently loose topermit fuel to flow therebetween and to be throttled to a lowerpressure. A packing 45 which is made of a porous foam-like material suchas rubber is located in the lower end of housing 39 and furtherrestricts the flow of the fuel to thereby reduced its pressure as ittravels upwardly within the housing. A washer 46 having a slot 47 at itsupper end underlying aperture 48 permits the fuel to pass through saidaperture 48 and into chamber 49 in which O-ring 50' is located. The fuelin chamber 49 will communicate with chamber 50 through conduit 51 inflame adjusting body member 52.

At this point it is to be noted that a poppet valve 53 is located at thelower end of nozzle 17 and its inclined face 54- presses against O-ringseal 55 to trap the fuel within chamber 50. Poppet valve 53 has ashoulder 56 therein which is engaged by spring 57 having its upper endin engagement with shoulder 58 of the flame adjusting member 60.\Vhenever lever 18 is pivoted in a clockwise direction, as describedabove, the bifurcated end portion 34 thereof will engage shoulder 37 ofnozzle 17 and move the nozzle upwardly thereby unseating poppet valve 53from O-ring 55 and permitting the fuel previously held within chamber 50to pass upwardly into aperture 61 and through conduit 62 prior toemanating from the top of nozzle 17.

As long as button 19 is maintained in a depressed condition fuel willcontinue to flow from nozzle 17 and the flame will remain. However assoon as button 19 is released spring 57 will expand to cause poppetvalve 53 to reseat itself on O-ring 55 to thereby terminate the flow offuel from nozzle 17.

Included within housing 38 is an unique arrangement for varying the sizeof the flame produced at nozzle 17. More specifically a knurled collar63 is provided with a wheel 64 (FIGURE 5) mounted thereon in matingrelationship and held by set screw 65. If it is desired to vary the sizeof the flame, it is merely necessary to rotate wheel 64 and thus changethe relative axial positions between the casing 65 which houses spring57 and the housing 38 is mounted within the fuel containing housing 12.This in turn will either raise or lower the shoulder 37 of nozzle 17with respect to bifurcated end portion 34 of lever 18. Assuming that itwas raised, the subsequent movement of lever 18 in a clockwise directionwill be unable to separate inclined surface 54 of poppet valve 53 fromO-ring 55 to as great an extent as it could separate them prior to suchraising and thus the flow of gas passing between O-ring 55 and inclinedsurface 54 will be throttled to a greater extent and a smaller flamewill be obtained at nozzle 17. Conversely, if it is desired to provide alarger flame, Wheel 64 is rotated to cause the casing 65 to movedownwardly and axially relative to housing 38 by virtue of the threadedconnection therebetween at 66 and thus cause shoulder 37 to movedownwardly and approach the top 25 of housing 12. Thus, when lever 18 ispivoted in a clockwise direction during lighting of the lighter, thenozzle 17 will move upwardly a greater amount than before it was loweredand thu increase the space between O-ring 55 and inclined poppet valvesurface 54 to thereby permit more fuel to pass through nozzle 17 uponactuation of the lighter to thus provide a larger flame.

Because of the tight fit between interengaging threads 66, once the sizeof the flame is adjusted it will hold its adjustment until it isreadjusted. In the foregoing respect it can be seen from FIGURE 5 thatflanges 67 are provided on the underside of lever 18 and these willlimit the downward movement of the right side of lever 18 in FIGURE 5because they will engage the top surface 25 of housing 21 every timethat button 19 is depressed. Thus, because of the positive stop providedby the top 25 of housing 12 the left end including the bifurcatedportion 34 of lever 18 will always be limited as to how high it can moveand thus by varying the vertical position of shoulder 37 of nozzle 17 inthe above described manner, the amount of opening produced by poppetvalve 53 can be adjusted.

The improved lighter 10 of the present invention also includes a refillvalve 70 (FIGURES 5 and 8) which includes a threaded neck 71 which isreceived in the bottom 72 of housing 12 in mating threaded relationship,threaded neck 71 forming a part of valve housing 72. An ring 73 providesa seal between the housing 12 and the refill valve. Pressed onto housing72 is a housing extension 74, the pressing being effected at 75. Anozzle 76 having a conduit 77 is biased with shoulder 78 against seat 79by a spring 80 extending between shoulder 81 of housing extension 74 andshoulder 82 of member 83. Seal 79 is held in position between the end 84of housing portion 72 and shoulder 78 when the valve is closed. Theconduit 77 within nozzle 76 terminates at radial apertures 85. Whennozzle 76 is moved downwardly against the bias of spring 80 duringfilling radial apertures 85 will move past seal 79 so that fuel may flowthrough conduit 77, through radial apertures 85 and into the chamber inwhich spring 80 is located, thence through aperture 86 into chamber 13of housing 12 where it is stored. It will be appreciated that nozzle 76is depressed during the sealing of chamber 12 by a suitable arrangementon the filling container (not shown). After the filling container isremoved, spring 80 will expand to return all the parts to the positionshown in the drawing wherein sealing is again effected so that the fuelwithin chamber 13 cannot leak. A cap 87 threads into aperture 88 withinthe refill valve to prevent dirt and the like from entering said valve,cap 87 being removed during the filling operation.

It is to be noted from FIGURES 4 and that the upper end 15 of casing 11generally encloses most portions of the spark generating and fuelreleasing mechanism, and has apertures 15' and 19' for exposing theportions of spark wheel 15 and button 19, respectively, to which digitalpressure must be applied. The only other opening in upper end 15consists of aperture 16' which permits the flame to pass outside thecasing from nozzle 17. The fact that the saddle and the major portionsof lever 18 and the spark wheel 16 and its associated mechanism areenclosed in the manner depicted in the drawings tends to minimize theaccumulation of foreign matter on the working parts.

It can thus be seen that the improved lighter of the present inventionis manifestly capable of achieving the above enumerated objects andwhile a preferred embodiment of the present invention has beendisclosed, it will readily be appreciated that the present invention isnot limited thereto but may be otherwise embodied.

I claim:

1. A lighter comprising a housing, a chamber in said housing for storingfuel, spark generating means mounted on said housing, a fuel nozzlelocated proximate said spark generating means and at one side thereof,conduit means in communication with said nozzle, valve means forselectively permitting flow of fuel from said housing through saidconduit means to said nozzle, first linkage means coupled to said valvemeans for maintaining said valve means open to permit flow of fuelthrough said nozzle for prolonged combustion, second linkage meanseffectively coupled to said spark generating means for opening saidvalve means upon applying pressure to said spark generating means tothereby provide a priming charge of fuel from said nozzle incidental tothe striking of a spark, and easing means overlying said housing andhaving a plurality of aperture means therein for permitting a portion ofsaid spark generating means and a first portion of said first linkagemeans for receiving pressure of a persons finger to project therefromand to permit an unobstructed opening for emanation of the flame fromsaid nozzle, said casing means including closed portions between saidaperture means for shielding a second portion of said first linkagemeans and said second linkage means to maintain said second linkagemeans and said second portion of said first linkage means substantiallyenclosed against the entry of foreign matter, said spark generatingmeans including a spark wheel and spring means for biasing a flint intoengagement with said spark wheel, said first linkage means including alever having a central portion pivotally mounted relative to saidhousing and a first end coupled to said valve means to one side of saidspark wheel and a second end located on the opposite side of said sparkwheel from said nozzle, said second end comprising said first portion ofsaid first linkage means, said second linkage means including meanseffectively extending between said spark wheel and said lever fordepressing said second end of said lever upon the application ofpressure to said spark wheel against the bias of said spring means, saidsecond linkage means comprising means mounted for substantiallyrectilinear movement relative to said housing and a tab forming a partof said second linkage means and located between said spark wheel andsaid second end of said lever for pivoting said lever incidental toapplying pressure to said spark wheel, said spring means being mountedin a tube and said means mounted for substantially rectilinear movementcomprising a tubular portion mounted within said tube in telescopedrelationship, with said spring extending into said tubular portion forbiasing a flint therein into engagement with said spark wheel, saidhousing including upstanding arms, and said second linkage meansincluding ears mounted for relative sliding movement with respect tosaid upstanding arms whereby said telescoping relationship between saidtubular member and said tube and said relative sliding between said earsand said arms maintains said second linkage stabilized during movementthereof.

2. A lighter comprising a housing, a chamber in said housing for storingfuel, a fuel nozzle, conduit means for eflecting communication betweensaid fuel nozzle and said chamber, valve means for selectivelypermitting fuel to flow through said conduit means to said nozzle, sparkwheel means, an elongated tubular member in said housing, a hollow tubetelescoped within said elongated tubular member, a spring in saidelongated tubular member for biasing a flint in said hollow tube intoengagement with said spark wheel means, upstanding ears coupled to saidhollow tube, means for journalling said spark wheel means between saidupstanding ears, arms straddling said upstanding ears, means forsecuring said arms to said housing, elongated slot means in said arms,pin means in said elongated slot means for securing said ears to saidarms while permitting relative movement therebetween to thereby permitsaid hollow tube to telescope within said elongated tubular member whenpressure is applied to said spark wheel in opposition to the bias ofsaid spring, a lever operatively coupled to said valve means for causingfuel to flow through said nozzle, and a linkage operatively coupled tosaid upstanding ears for actuating said lever in response totheapplication of pressure to said spark wheel means to thereby releasea priming charge of fuel to said nozzle.

3. A lighter as set forth in claim- 2 wherein said lever operativelycoupled to said valve means includes a central portion pivotally mountedrelative to said housing with a first end to one side of said sparkwheel for actuating said valve means and a second end on the oppositeside of said spark wheel for receiving pressure from a finger, andwherein said linkage operatively coupled to said upstanding ea-rsincludes tab means located proximate said second end of said lever foreflecting pivotal movement thereof in response to the application ofpressure to said spark wheel.

4. A lighter as set forth in claim 3 wherein said upstanding earscomprise a pair of upstanding ears occupying a spaced parallelrelationship to each other, and wherein said arms straddling saidupstanding ears comprise a pair of spaced arms occupying a spacedparallel relationship to each other, said ears being in slidingrelationship with said arms so as to cause a stabilized movement of saidears, and wherein said linkage includes a plate alfixed between saidupstanding ears for mounting said tab, and wherein said tab is inclineddownwardly into engagement with said second end of said lever.

5. A lighter as set forth in claim 4 wherein said central portion ofsaid lever comprises a pair of spaced downwardly extending substantiallyparallel legs having their lower ends resting on said housing with saidlegs being in abutting engagement with said arms and said legs providingsaid pivotal mounting of said central portion in an area between saidarms.

6. A lighter as set forth in claim 5 wherein said arms are connected bya lower end portion so that said arms and said lower end portion form aU-shaped member with said lower end portion being welded to saidhousing, and wherein said downwardly depending legs rest on said lowerend portion.

7. A lighter as set forth in claim '6 wherein said tubular memberextends through said lower end portion.

8. A lighter comprising a housing, a chamber in said housing for storingfuel, a fuel nozzle, conduit means for effecting communication betweensaid chamber and said fuel nozzle, valve means for selectivelypermitting fuel to fiow through said conduit means to said nozzle, aspark wheel, -a fiint tube in said housing, spring means in said flinttube for biasing a flint into engagement with said spark wheel, pinmeans for mounting said spark wheel, said pin means having opposite endsextending beyond said spark wheel, a saddle having a central portion anda pair of upstanding spaced substantially parallel ears for receivingsaid ends of said pin in fixed journalled relationship for permittingonly rotation thereof, a pair of upstanding spaced substantiallyparallel arms mounted on and extending upwardly from said housing inbracketing contacting relationship with said ears, an elongated slot ineach of said arms for receiving said ends of said pin which projectbeyond said ears so as to permit said pins to slide in said slots aswell as to rotate in said ears, guide means affixed to said centralportion of said saddle for guiding said ears for sliding movement in adirection parallel to the length of said slots, a lever, pivot meansmounting said lever on said housing for pivotal movement, said leverhaving a first end portion to one side of said saddle for effectivelyengaging said valve means to selectively cause flow of fuel to saidnozzle, said lever having a second end on the opposite side of saidsaddle for receiving a persons finger after it leaves said spark wheelto maintain said valve open, and link means afiixed to said saddle andin engagement with said second end of said lever for depressing saidsecond end of said lever when a persons finger presses downwardly onsaid spark wheel and thus causes said pin to travel along the length ofsaid slots in said arms against the bias of said spring mean.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,174,310 3/1965 Genoud 677.1

3,213,647 10/ 1965 Sakamoto 67-7.l

3,290,905 12/1966 Court 677.1

FOREIGN PATENTS 1,308,689 10/ 1962 France.

EDWARD J. MICHAEL, Primary Examiner.

